Jackson Hole, WY is probably my most favorite destination I have ever been to. My Dad and I have been on several snowmobile trips to northwestern Wyoming over the years including multiple trips to the Wind River Range outside of Duboise, WY as well as one trip in which we rode through Yellowstone National Park to Yellowstone, ID. I recall one trip in the Wind Rivers where we came upon a scenic outlook in which you could see the Teton Range some 70 miles off in the distance forming the horizon. My dad looked at me and said "I wonder what's up there?"
Fast foward several years later and I was searching the internet for things to do in Jackson in the summer time as I intended to take Kylie there on vacation and introduce her to the promise land. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a pop-up ad that read "Climb Grand Teton!" I clicked on the link and it took me to the homepage for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides where I saw they offered a four (4) day trip to climb the Grant Teton.
I copy/pasted the link to their website in an email to my Dad and said "What do you think?"....within the hour he replied "Let's do it!"
That said, below is the recap of our trip....
Day One
We met our guide from JHMG, Tom Egan, at the Lupine Meadows Trailhead (6,780 ft) at 9:30 AM where we distributed misc climbing gear and our food. From the parking lot the trail proceeds South along the wooded edge of the meadow and then gradually begins to climb through pine forest. It ascends a small ridge to the first trail junction about 1.7mi from the trailhead. Taking the right fork, we began a serious ascent following a set of long switchbacks on a broad East facing slope. Below us were the beautiful Bradley and Taggart lakes whose blue waters led to the name of the canyon ahead. About 1.3mi beyond the first trail junction the switchbacks lead to the second trail junction that we reached in a little under 2 hours from the start. Taking the left fork, the gradient eases as we climbed briefly and then rounded the corner into Garnet Canyon. Trekking due West, the trail eventually met up with Garnet Creek at a place where there is a camping area known as The Meadows (9,400 ft). This marked the end of the developed trail, about 1.5mi from the second trail junction, and made for a nice place to stop for lunch.
After lunch, shorter switchbacks lead up the North Fork of Garnet Canyon on a steep and partially wooded slope as it climbs around to the right of Spalding Falls (10,000 ft). The water comes from the Middle Teton Glacier and cascades 80 ft off the rocky cliffs into The Meadows. Above Spalding Falls, the trail crosses over the stream at a place where there is a camping area known as the Petzoldt Caves. Above the Caves, we make our final traverse across Teepe Glacier where we met back up with the trail as it switchbacks up a steep, barren talus slope that eventually crests at the top of a great moraine.
After seven (7) hours on the trail, we arrived at JHMG’s secluded Corbet High Camp (11,200 ft) located on a high glacial moraine just below the East face of the Grand and adjacent to the Teepe Glacier.
There were two (2) others guided groups at camp when we arrived, both of which had just returned from summiting the Grand. We checked in to our tents and allowed those who summitted to enjoy their dinner and some relaxation.
Day Two
This day was devoted to making everyone comfortable and proficient with technical rock climbing. We learned and reviewed: knots, harnesses and helmets; belaying, multi-pitch climbing systems and rappelling; movement over rock and efficient ascent and descend methods. Each technique was first demonstrated and then practiced. We hiked over the Teepe Glacier to the Fairshare Tower where we climbed the first two pitches followed by a 100 ft rappel.
We returned to camp for dinner and preparations. We organized our equipment, filled our water bottles and packed for the next morning.
Day Three
We received a wake up call at 2:30 AM and hurried to get dressed, gathered our packs and headed into the main tent for some breakfast and hot drinks. We departed High Camp at 3:30 AM and began making our way down the morain. At the edge of the snow field we pulled out our ice axes and strapped on our crampons to traverse up the snow to the Lower Saddle (11,600 ft). We dropped our ice axe, removed our crampons and changed from our mountaineering boots into our approach shoes and hid the aforementioned items boulder so as not to carry them to the summit. A windy hike to the Black Dyke (12,000 ft) took us to the beginning of the climbing.
Early morning light illuminated the next 1,000 feet of second and third class scrambling to the Upper Saddle (13,100 ft). Moments before sunrise, we were treated to an amazing sight as the shadows of the Grand, Middle and South Tetons was being projected over the entire state of Idaho! To the South we could now see all the Teton peaks at the Southern end of the range and, in the distance, the city of Jackson. To the North we could see Mount Owen (12,928 ft) half hidden behind the mass of the Grand. Immediately below us was an almost vertical 6,000 ft drop into Cascade Canyon.
We then donned all of our excess clothing and empty water bottles as we stacked ropes and tied-in for the technical fifth-class climbing. It was there that we diverged from the classic Owen-Spalding route and ascended via the Pownall-Gilkey (5.6 A0), an aesthetic route up a frozen granite slab. We Traversed right along a narrowing ledge system to the base of the first pitch. The first pitch was the most difficult and known as the crux of the route. Our lungs were fighting to extract every drop of oxygen from the thin air to power our abused leg and arm muscles. It would've been easy to just sit down and quit, but the disappointment of failure was worse than the suffering caused by continuing the climb. The next obstacle was a 30-foot friction pitch with less than desirable hand and foot holds, so we willed our way to the top.
From here, we traversed exposed rock and snow requiring scrambling and technical climbing over risky terrain, until the route broke into the warming sunlight on Exum Ridge. We scrambled up the Exum Ridge, with it tremendous exposure on both sides, we were moving as one unit still tied into our climbing ropes (walking in coils).
After more than six (6) hours of climbing we reached the summit (13,770 ft) at 10:15 AM and to our surprise, we had it all to ourselves! We looked upon a cloudless sky, a warming sun and a stunning 360-degree view of three (3) states and fourteen (14) mountain ranges. Wyoming's highest point, Gannet Peak (13,804 ft) in the Wind Rivers, was easily seen some 100 miles to the East. With no sign of the deadly afternoon thunderstorms we relaxed on the summit for about 45 minutes enjoying a moment of rest, an early lunch and a feeling of great accomplishment. The cellular service was remarkable from the summit and Tom was kind enough to let us borrow his phone to call our loved ones. We snapped multiple pictures before leaving this extraordinary place to show we had stood on the roof of the Tetons. It was very hard to leave the summit, but our climbing day was only half over.
We began the steep down-climb from the summit following the Owen-Spalding route eventually making our way down the Sergeant’s Chimney to the long rappel (140 ft) station. This famous rappel deposited us on the Upper Saddle from an overhanging ledge with a 100 foot "free rappel" where we were dangling in space not touching the rock. Having not known of the "free rappel" made it quite surprising...more like frightening! We continued down-climbing towards the Black Dike. Having ascended by headlamp, it would have been easy to choose the wrong gully on the descent, but Tom lead us back through the maze to the Lower Saddle.
Just below the Lower Saddle, we rejoined with our gear we had left behind early that morning. Needing to descend the steep snow field, Tom instructed us to change back into our mountaineering boots and put on our rain gear. We tied in using the climbing rope and began the traverse down the slippery foot steps, inching our way ever so slightly. Nearing the half-way point of the traverse, Tom found the conditions in favor of a quick descent method called glacading. This is where the rain gear came in handy as we sat down on our bottoms and slid 400 feet down the snow field using only our ice axe as a brake. This put a huge smile on our face and took some of the edge off after the intense traverse.
Physically and mentally exhausted we made our final climb (500 ft) back up the morain to Corbet High Camp, at times taking only two (2) steps in between breaks. We reached High Camp at 6:00 PM making for a fifteen (15) hour day in which we drank over eight (8) liters of water and burned more than 7,000 calories.
After a quick dinner we called it an early night and headed to bed.
Day Four
Our final day was somewhat anticlimactic although we did enjoy the opportunity to sleep in! We enjoyed a long breakfast and took our time gathering our belongings prior to beginning our descent.
The views coming down the mountain provided a different perspective than those while climbing up. We made it back down to the parking lot, thanked our guide Tom and hurried into town for hot shower and cold beer. We found a hotel and had yet another early night as we both would fly out the next morning.
All in all, this was a remarkable trip and one that will last a lifetime. Over 14 miles roundtip and 7,000 fee of elevation gain/loss. To be able to accomplish this goal alongside my dad was incredile. He has set the bar rather high with regards to being a father...I can only hope that my children challenge me when the time comes and I'm able to produce the way he has.
We both swore we would never do something this crazy ever again (this is foreshadowing)!
Oh yeah....and I still owe Kylie a trip to Jackson Hole!!!
